Another Eighteen-Year-Old

I cannot believe it. Half my kids 18 and over now?

They're going to have to start paying their own way at museums.


This is B18, taken a few months ago. He certainly looks old enough to pay his own way, doesn't he?

Most of the time, he looks more like this.

Something of the little boy there still, I like to think. This was taken very recently, at our church talent show, while he was singing a song he wrote for his little sister. It was so sweet and special.

The stringed instrument is a semi-permanent appendage.

We couldn't be more proud of the young man he is becoming. Musically, he just keeps improving as a guitarist, a songwriter and a vocalist, and he is so diligent in practicing and in pushing himself creatively. He's also learning and working hard behind-the-scenes, running the sound board for our church most Sundays.

Academically, he is doing well in his classes with the virtual school and also in the college courses he has taken this year. He's a junior, and he's planning a similar combination of high school and college courses next year. He should enter college the following year with at least a semester's worth of credits.

Spiritually, he is so solid. He loves the Lord, our church and his family, and the men he looks up to most are his dad and other men from church. He loves to get up early and do Morning Prayer with his dad.

And he's just an enjoyable kid to be with. Other adults tell me how much they like and enjoy him, and how thankful they are that he's around as a role model for their kids. He really is good with children. He can be like a second father to his younger siblings--encouraging them in their activities, stepping in and backing me up when they are misbehaving. He wants to become a history teacher, so it's good practice for him!

He's also got a great sense of humor. Being at home for school for the past two years has meant that he connects with many friends through social media. He's learned to stay out of the drama, and instead, he has developed an online presence that is witty and humorous. Even our adult friends enjoy his statuses on Facebook, and whole families tell me they watch and laugh at his silly Vines together.

Thank you, Lord, for B18!

A birthday prayer for you, son:

For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. 

(2 Peter 1:5-7)

Five Minute Friday...Friend

Trying a new thing today...Five Minute Friday.

Friend?

Jesus, I know you as Savior, Redeemer, God…but friend? Someone I can share all my secrets with? Laugh with, cry with? Be completely myself with?

You should be my best friend, Lord, but I admit I am not comfortable with you in that role. I can be honest with you—no problem. You know it all anyway! But it feels like being honest with a teacher or a parent, knowing that I deserve whatever lecture, instruction or disappointment they might express.

A friend who loves without judgment, listens without suggestion, who accepts me just as I am? Part of me does experience you that way, I guess, but the other part of me focuses on your words in Scripture and all the ways I am not measuring up, and even though I know there is grace, I wish I could be that woman, the one who in her anger does not sin, the one who is full of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, love, and peace.

The one who values your friendship so much that she spends more than a few hurried minutes communing with you. What kind of a friend am I to you?

But you, my friend, are full of grace and truth. I know the truth, help me know more of your grace. The grace that forgives and justifies it all. Not to excuse it—I need make no excuses with you—but to wipe it out, erase it completely. Every day is a new day, a blank slate with you as...

…my friend.

Aladdin Photo Link!!

How did I forget???

You definitely want to go look at the gallery of awesome, professional photos that my amazing husband took of Aladdin!

As any mom who has tried to snap a few pictures at dress rehearsals can tell you, it is SO hard to get good pictures under theater lighting conditions. Papa Rooster has read books, watched tutorials, talked to pros, and purchased special camera lenses in order to get the beautiful photos that he takes.

They really are wonderful.  See for yourself!

(The password is "andreas." They are arranged by scene--A1S1 is Act 1, Scene 1.)


If you are family/friends looking for our kids...B17 is throughout, of course, as Aladdin, but don't miss...

A1S4, with B14's big scene as Prince Zorak! 

A1S3 with B8's big moment, right at the beginning. 

A1S6, of B14 in his Captain of the Guard role. 

A1S8 has all three kids in it except B14. 

A2S2 has B14 in his third role as an Entourage Dancer.

A2S3 is the Magic Carpet ride scene with all three except B14.

A2S5 has B14's silliest gag as Captain of the Guard.

A2S6, in which B17 dresses up like a woman and dances with Jafar, also fights him and frees the Genie!


And if you are really a fan...

The last gallery is a slideshow, set to the high-energy Bollywood-style dance music used in the show! Enjoy!

Virtual School Drop-Outs

Sometimes I wonder how schizophrenic our family's educational choices must appear to others.

We really have tried it all, it seems--homeschool, public school, charter school, private school, virtual school, Christian college, state college, technical college, even college-for-high-school-credit.

True, for many years, it was only the first two--homeschool and public school. (That's not so insane, is it?) The rest were prompted by our move to Wisconsin, and our kids becoming high school and then college-age students. Because we lack a crystal ball, we've been gaining experience by the trial-and-error method. And...because God uses it all. And because one kid is not like another.

So.

Because we are Wisconsin residents, we have this virtual school option. It has been nice to take advantage of. With all the other things going on in our lives when we first moved up here, it was great to have someone else making assignments and grading them, and holding us all accountable during a crazy time. It was a lifesaver that first year we tried it, for B14's 6th-grade and Chicklet's 2nd-grade year.

It was also the perfect thing for B17 to switch to after 8th and 9th grade at a private school. For many reasons, we wanted to bring him home and he wanted to come home, but he did not want to be homeschooled and I did not want to homeschool him! The virtual school was a great solution.

This year, however, the virtual school just hasn't worked out so well.

I already wrote about our decision to pull out Chicklet10, early in the school year, and I described some of our difficulties with B14 here.

After deciding that we would replace his social studies curriculum with our own approach, it was only a short leap to the conclusion that we could just do the same with his other classes...and it made such a difference when he no longer had a reason to be on a laptop! Suddenly he was reading again. He was getting his work done in a reasonable time, and he was playing piano for fun again. He started playing games with his younger brother and sister when they were all finished with academics. Overall he seemed to regain motivation and become his old self again.

And he admitted that he had been spending hours playing online video games before. As I suspected! He was just so quick at switching to a school screen when I would check on him or make him sit at the kitchen table, and I could rarely catch him. I couldn't sit with him for hours on end, making sure he was only doing schoolwork. We probably could have installed some kind of software that could have helped, but when I did searches, everything I found was designed to block certain sites; what we needed was a blocker for everything except sites we designated. (I'd still like to find one--please let me know if you know of one!)

So no wonder he was unmotivated by math problems and Latin exercises. How could they compare to the excitement of a life-or-death mission? I can't fault the virtual school for his poor choices, but it seemed clear to us that virtual curriculum was no longer a good option for B14.

Then all we had left in virtual school were B17--who was and still is doing his own thing, in 11th grade--and B8.

B8, in second grade, had really enjoyed it at the beginning, but he was getting bored.  Increasingly, he began copying his big brother's bad habits, and was sneaking onto Lego.com when he was supposed to be watching the short instructional videos. The workbook pages were often too easy for him, or they were too time-consuming for what they were worth. Though this curriculum had challenged Chicklet when she was in second grade, it wasn't a great fit for her brother.

And I began to think how nice it was in the days when I didn't have to scan and send anything in, when I could let them read all day if they wanted, and not feel like we still had this other busywork that had to be completed before we could call it a day of school. I thought of all the field trips we took when my oldest three were in elementary school, without counting the cost of getting "behind." I thought of the things I would have B8 focus on if he didn't have to do seemingly arbitrary assignments every day. I thought of how, instead of spending time concentrated on one child, B8, I would rather spend that time with all three, reading aloud and doing unit studies.

So I pulled out B8 too. The school was sorry to see him go, because apparently we were exceptionally diligent about getting work turned in. (I just can't ignore a checklist, I guess, and other people's expectations!) But I was NOT sorry to see the laptop go back, because the kids all knew the password to it, which the school had set and we didn't have admin privileges to change. Every time I went to the grocery or took a shower, somebody would be tempted to sneak on it. Good riddance, I say.

And we are enjoying our new-found freedom immensely! Each one is doing short lessons targeted to his or her needs, for grammar, spelling, writing, handwriting, vocabulary and math. For science, they choose a book from my shelf of elementary science books, and all three have been reading Usborne's Starting Point Science (we have all four volumes and they rotate). They also watch Bill Nye, the Science Guy DVD's from the library. For social studies, they read. We are focusing on American history this year, so they've read biographies and other chapter books, and we watched the John Adams mini-series recently too.

For reading aloud, we're taking a break from the Little House series--just finished Farmer Boy--and have started The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. We're also doing a poetry unit, with a book that came with Chicklet's curriculum, A Child's Introduction to Poetry, and I love it because it's more than just a poetry collection; it explains poetry categories, such as narrative poetry, lyrical poetry, nonsense verse, limericks, haikus, villanelles, etc. They are writing their own poems too! For Bible, we have been reading Journey to the Cross for the Easter season, which goes beyond telling the story, explaining Jewish and Roman customs of the time period. We're also memorizing Colossians 3:12-17.

We now have more regular trips to the library, and Chicklet and B8 always are engrossed in their finds for a few days after our visit.  Chicklet and B14 continue piano, B8 is starting spring soccer, and they all attend theater classes too. B14 was selected to be on the Improv Team from our area! His team will compete against 8-9 other teams in June, and he can't wait. He's also taking a voice class. B8 is in a voice class as well, and Chicklet is taking dance, covering two styles--Hip Hop and Modern.

We had a nice Spring Break, spreading it out by doing lessons on Tuesday/Thursday for two weeks, and we also went on a couple field trips with friends. (Maybe I'll do a short post about that separately.)

So we are not regretting our drop-out status. We are learning just as much...and enjoying it more!

Schizophrenic? I prefer to think of ourselves as "flexible" and "responsive to student needs."

So there.

Easter Vigil 2013

Once again, the Easter Vigil was the highlight of our church year!

The service always begins in darkness, as one candle, the Light of Christ, is processed to the front. Papa Rooster sings the Exsultet, a beautiful chant extolling "this most marvelous and holy flame." His rich tenor voice is perfectly suited for it.

The light spreads from the one candle to many. 

This year, in a different rented location, for a post-daylight-savings-time Vigil, we weren't able to cover the windows as we would have liked to for a little more darkness. Still, candlelight creates its own atmosphere.

Then the congregation is seated and we begin to recount salvation history through a series of Old Testament readings, beginning with the Creation.

This is the father of one of our parishioners, who's from another state. He's been performing James Weldon Johnson's "The Creation" for many years. He was brilliant! Every child in the place was riveted by this man's storytelling ability. (One of them asked him at The Peace if he would please tell him another story!) 

There may have been another reason the kids were all transfixed, though. After the ending, B8 turned to me with eyes wide and asked, "Who WAS that guy?" (The kids had never laid eyes on him before, and since he started out at the very back of the church, I think they might have thought he just wandered in off the street!)

(Because this wasn't a direct quotation from Scripture, instead of beginning with "A reading from the book of Genesis" he began, "A rhapsody...inspired by the book of Genesis." I loved that! At the end, instead of "The Word of the Lord," he said, "Here ends the reading." Inquiring liturgical minds will be glad to know.)

The next reading is the story of the Flood and the covenant God made with Noah and his descendants. I read the Genesis account while our percussionist, above (the son of the Creation reading guy, incidentally), performed a "soundscape" of rain, wind and water sounds, along with distinctive sounds for the birds, beasts, livestock, creeping things, and the rainbow.

As the story of Abraham and Isaac was read, a father and son acted it behind a scrim, with a strong light to project their shadows onto it. It's always such a powerful reading.

Our 13-and-14-year-olds recounted the escape of the Israelites at the Red Sea. (So thankful for that one young lady among all these young men; can you believe we have two other boys in this age group? It's our biggest "bubble" of kids the same age.)

The next reading, "Salvation Offered Freely to All," is from Isaiah 55:1-11. For this reading, these men sang "Come to the Waters" composed by our friend Steve Williamson at Church of the Resurrection. Papa Rooster got to sing it together with his brother and his dad--a treat for them and for all of us.  (The three of them are together on the left.)

The next reading is God's promise, from Ezekiel, to take our hearts of stone and give us hearts of flesh, to put a new spirit in us!

The next reading is also from Ezekiel, about the dry bones coming to life. Here B17 plays the prophet, while B14 plays the dry bones, which have just been rolled over by Ezekiel's foot, showing that they are "very dry." A tin whistle accompaniment provided "valley" atmosphere, a rattling sound and a wind sound.

The dry bones come to life and receive God's spirit. Their graves are opened and they are settled in their own land. "And you will know that I, the Lord, have done it." High five! between the brothers.

(Though I "directed" them, most of the good moments they came up with on their own, such as when the bones remain seated after the text says "and they stood on their feet." B17 cleared his throat and repeated the line, more loudly, before B14 suddenly heard him and jumped to his feet. B14 added a lot of funny facial expressions to the bones too. This is such a strange story that you just HAVE to milk the comic potential in it!)

The final reading (Zephaniah 3:14-20) was a song, "The Gathering of God's People," also composed by Steve Williamson. (You can watch and listen to it here.) This young lady, who has played many lead roles in musicals, is headed off to college next year to major in vocal performance. She read the scripture so expressively and joyfully sang the women's refrain:   "Sing, O daughter of Zion, shout aloud, O Israel; Rejoice with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem."

These kids sang the interweaving chorus, and the juxtaposition of their young pure voices with her mature one was so moving, as they sang repeatedly, "Fear not, O Israel, the Lord is on your side; a mighty one who will save you."

After the Old Testament readings, we always renew our baptismal vows as a congregation, a powerful moment of affirmation of belief. Then my brother-in-law sang the Don Francisco song, "He's Alive!" and just before the chorus, Father Rooster shouted the Easter Acclamation, "Allelujah! Christ the Lord is risen!" and the congregation responded, "He is risen indeed! Alleluia!"

The processional cross is unveiled and lifted high by B14.

The whole congregation shouts, whistles and rings bells, while banners and potted flowers are brought forward to place around the altar. The drummer keeps going until the last of the flowers are brought out, and then we burst into a chorus of Alleluia, the song and word we've been leaving out of our liturgy all during Lent!

Then it's time for the New Testament reading, Romans 6:3-11. We've always done it as a straight reading, but this year, we tried it with three readers, speaking the words excitedly to each other and the whole congregation.

Next is the Gospel reading by our deacon, and then the sermon, which Father Rooster keeps very brief. Then we have communion and as soon as everyone has come forward, the dancing begins!

The kids always start us out. (That's my niece front and center, with Chicklet 10 behind her.)

It's more like joyful running in the aisles, to be honest. The kids look forward to this all year long!

Even the adults join in!

Well, some of us were dragged in. I blame that lady in front of me. She started it!

Her husband too! Here he is on the stage with Father Rooster and the acolytes before he jumped down and grabbed his daughter for a run in the aisles.

Meanwhile, Blondechick & Co. kept the music going...

...while B17 ran sound. The real sound guy is also our percussionist, so he's been teaching B17 and this other young man what to do while he plays. B17 gave up his whole spring break, practically, to be at every rehearsal and service for Holy Week. He's learning so much!

Another Easter Vigil successfully celebrated! If you did not read my previous post, I explained that it takes so many to pull it off...but it is the Holy Spirit himself who infuses that service with so much more than our human efforts--and so much joy!!

ALLELUIA!!!

Photo credit--all photos by Andrew Barkules, 4/30/13

Rejoice With All Your Heart

I don't have photos. (Yet.)

Well, here's one, from the very start of Holy Week--beginning our Palm Sunday service

But I have so much joy and thanksgiving in my heart that I can't wait for photos to post something about Holy Week.

Christ has died so that we may truly live!! He's risen and reigns over heaven and earth!! Alleluia!!

I am so thankful, for things heavenly...and for earthly matters too.

--for Christ, my Savior

--for his love, care and delight in me

--for the Church. I know it's hip to criticize it, but it was God's idea and I am so grateful for it.

--for Light of Christ. We have never regretted moving to Wisconsin to help start this church. What a work of God it is! We have been blessed with such wonderful, wonderful people in this small congregation.

--for "the body in action." During Holy Week, all kinds of gifts and services are poured out behind the scenes. This year, we needed stairs and a scrim constructed, communion bread baked, a new sound system built,wood supplied, bulletins prepared, curtains sewn, flowers ordered, emails exchanged, schedules made, rehearsals held, food prepared and much more. The family who lives across the street from our rented space opened their home for the week to anyone who needed a meal or a place to hold a meeting, and another woman provided food in huge quantities. Our tech team (including B17) provided sound and light for multiple music rehearsals, dramatic reading rehearsals, liturgical rehearsals with clergy and acolytes, and the actual services. There was a coordinator for each service--and a "coordinator of coordinators"--to make sure all the little details were prepared and planned. It was such a community effort!

--for the Holy Spirit. We plan and prepare and rehearse...but there is just no human accounting for what happens when God multiplies our small loaves-and-fishes of effort. Each service was like a vessel we shaped, but God filled. Newcomers, little kids, young people and old-timers were moved in mysterious ways. Praise the Lord!!

--for the joy of the Lord. He is risen indeed! The resurrection is such a joyous event to end the week celebrating, but it is made even more joyous by the journey we have traveled together. We walked the spiritual journey from darkness to light alongside the time-bound and earthly journey of labor and cooperation as a community throughout the week. The joy that rewards the accomplishment of earthly service mingles with joy in Christ's love, forgiveness and salvation--and there is much rejoicing!!

My heart is full. What a wonderful week. Thank you, Lord!!

Sing, O Daughter of Zion, 

Shout aloud, O Israel. 

Rejoice with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem.

~Zephaniah 3:14 

Holy Week--Big Deal

I always feel a bit conspicuous this time of year. Most of our friends attend one Easter service, in the normal Sunday morning time slot. Some may add one extra time slot to their week if their church holds a Good Friday service.

We Anglicans*, on the other hand, talk about "Holy Week" like it's a marathon, which it is. Starting with Palm Sunday, a service with lots of extras like palm branches, an outdoor processional, and a dramatic Passion reading, we enter Holy Week gearing up for Maundy Thursday, Stations of the Cross, Good Friday, an extra-long Saturday night Easter Vigil, and Easter Sunday--not to mention the short Blessing of Oil and Water on Thursday, and at our sister church, a Tenebrae service too.

These are not your everyday services. We have footwashing, stripping of the altar, veneration of the cross, an all-night prayer vigil option, communion, salvation history recounted through nine dramatized Scripture readings, lots of special music, singing, bell ringing, dancing in the aisles, incense, flowers,  vestments, banners....

We make a pretty big deal of Holy Week.

And it seems so right to do so. How else should one celebrate the most important events of Christianity but with a lot of extra time, attention and commitment?

As for me and my house, I wouldn't have it any other way but to be in God's house--all week long. As tiring as it can be, we look forward to it--and I mean the kids too! Our kids have high expectations for Holy Week. "It has all my favorite services in it," Blondechick said when she was about 10. Just last week, my strapping 17-year-old son grinned at me like the little boy he once was and confided, "I'm really excited for Holy Week. I mean, I know I'm going to be really stressed and busy running sound for all those services, but I can't wait. I love Holy Week."

I wonder sometimes if other folks think we are saints for suffering through all those church services, or if they wonder how we possibly find the time.  I am just thrilled that our kids are growing up thinking that this is the normal way to celebrate Easter! 

***

*I should qualify that with a phrase like "We Anglicans of a certain artistic persuasion." Not all Anglicans go all out for Holy Week like we do.

Does Holy Week Prep Count as a Lenten Discipline?

This has not been my year for a super-meaningful Lent.

But it's okay.

The one practice I've been keeping up is the daily devotional Jesus Calling. I've been reading each daily paragraph twice, morning and night. Such an encouragement to pull away, to look at the bigger picture.

"Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you." It's the answer to so many problems, great and small.

The between-time hours, though, have been so full. And as I write, I realize that lately, what life has been full of is many joys and fun challenges! In addition to routine labors and responsibilities, of course. But so many exciting things in the works.

Let me count them.

Aladdin! Yes, it's over. But the photos remain! Papa Rooster was the professional photographer this time, and one of the things he offered to parents, besides a cast photo and the usual groupings, was a souvenir photo book of photos taken during performances. He's been teaching himself InDesign so that he can create  each page as a photo collage, and I've helped him a bit with layout for some of the pages. It's going to be a beautiful book! I've also helped him organize the parents' orders, tally them, order them, and organize the prints to hand out. We also created a production disk of photos from the show, with B22 on the job of burning those and creating labels with the Aladdin graphic. I have a new appreciation for how many hours go into photography besides just snapping the picture!

My One Act class!  Two weeks ago, all 14 students "auditioned" with a monologue and then we did cold readings from the script. My teen aide and I cast the show that night, and the next week, we passed out scripts and did a read-through. We discussed the characters' personalities, relationships, ages and motivations. Next week we'll start blocking it. We have two hours a week to rehearse until our performance on May 21. It's called "The Taming of LaRue," and it's a comic Western loosely based on "The Taming of the Shrew." The kids have lots of potential and it's going to be fun to pull it out of them!

Tom Sawyer! Auditions were last weekend and rehearsals start tonight. B14 was cast as Judge Thatcher, Becky Thatcher's father. He's about the tallest boy in the cast this time, so it seemed inevitable that he would end up in an adult role. Chicklet10 is Ruthie, a School Child, and B8 is Boy 2, also a School Child. (He was the "Child" in Aladdin, so our little joke is that he's moving up the ladder, since as "Boy 2," he now gets a gender and a number!) We haven't seen the script yet, but since they are named characters, they probably each get a line or two, and B14 will have quite a few. I will not be on the makeup committee, as usual; I asked to be on tech, so I can learn more about those aspects of directing. Now that I've been an intern director, I'm eligible to be on a directing team "for real," and I want to keep expanding my knowledge of all that goes into it!

Easter Vigil! For the past four years, I've been the director of all readings for Easter Vigil, plus the Passion reading for Palm Sunday. At our Easter Vigil, these readings are rarely just straightforward reading; we add music, dance or drama to accompany them. (See photos from last year's Vigil.) I wasn't really up for doing another year, but found myself in the role again, being urged to simplify as much as possible. So we are repeating several things from last year, performing two readings as songs, and using fewer kids. It's a bummer, really, since we have so many kids at Light of Christ, but it does simplify things from a rehearsal standpoint. (Next year, I want to take just two or three of the readings, not all nine, and then I will have time and energy to better incorporate more children.) The other thing we did to simplify was to cut--gasp!--one of the optional readings, Isaiah 4:2-6, God's Presence in a Renewed Israel. I had no inspiration for it, and when I saw it was not listed on The Lectionary Page for this year, we all agreed we could let it go.  I also delegated the Passion reading this year, which we always do as a reader's theater type choral reading. So thankful for Abbi, who took that on, and for Mrs. A, who created a schedule for sound checks for Saturday morning. (And for John, who gave ideas to get me going, and Lisa who is Master Coordinator for all of Holy Week and forced me to set helpful deadlines!)

Holy Week! Now that the administrative elements are over--emailing people to ask for involvement, creating rehearsal schedules, more emails, creating "scripts," sending followup emails--what's left is what I'd call the fun stuff. (Although as I type that, I wonder if I'm going to enjoy five rehearsals back-to-back from 3:30 to 8:30 or 9 on Monday.) Besides reading rehearsals, I also am singing in one music rehearsal, and then there are nine final run-throughs/sound checks on Saturday mornings.

Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Vigil and Easter Sunday! It's the big week of our church year, and our whole family is psyched! Blondechick is singing for several of the services, and B17 is running sound at all those rehearsals and services, and learning a new sound system we just purchased because we are meeting in a new location now. We had a minor calamity of sorts when we learned that the Kemper Chapel, where we normally hold all our services, had been rented out for a wedding on Holy Saturday. Because of the impossibility of moving everything on Saturday night to be ready for a Sunday morning service, we had to find a new location for all of our Holy Week services. The best option, after we tested it out by meeting there on Sunday mornings, turned out to be the Simmons Gymnasium at the other end of the Kemper Center, and now we are considering meeting there permanently on Sundays. Although it's a gym, it's beautiful. Stay tuned for pictures!

Homeschooling! What's new about that, you ask? One by one, we've ended up withdrawing kids from the virtual schools they were enrolled in, until now only B17 remains laptop-based in his lessons. The younger three are now spending a lot more time reading, and we are all loving it. More on that in a post to come.

Spring Break! Friends from our old stomping grounds are coming up for a day next week, or maybe we'll meet them in Chicago, if it's good weather. We have passes and Groupon deals to several museums we are going to visit after Easter, with friends, and I think we are going to take a day here and a day there and call it spring break.

Summer plans! They are a-percolatin'. Not fully brewed yet, but fun and exciting to think about.

Thank you, Lord, for all these joyful, enjoyable things to plan and do and think about. Thank you for my kids, husband, friends, church, and theater group to do them with. A couple nights ago, I dreamed that I was working in a maternity unity in a hospital, and there were all these babies there in the nursery, and being born in other rooms, but there was a hurricane or tornado on the way. Do I fear that something will happen to wipe out the joy and excitement I’m feeling? I pray for your protection for all these new things; like all children, they are Yours.

All About Aladdin

I like that title because it's alliterative and descriptive, but I could never, in a million words, say ALL that I would like to say about Aladdin! It was one of my favorite theater experiences ever.

Much of my enjoyment came from being a part of it from the beginning, as the intern director. From auditions, callbacks and casting on through rehearsals and a hair-raising production week--(we missed an entire dress/tech rehearsal due to a snowstorm)--it was such fun to be a part of the whole process. I couldn't have imagined a better team of directors to work with and learn from.

And the kids! They were just amazing. I saw such dedication from dancers, actors, vocalists and "triple threats." It was really rewarding to work with them.

Another reason this show will be unforgettable was that nearly all our family was involved! We had four kids onstage--for the first and probably only time.  B22 ran a spotlight, I directed, and Papa Rooster was the parent photographer who took backstage shots (for a "behind the scenes" photo CD), headshots (for the program), and costume shots (for candy bar wrappers sold as souvenirs, and for badges parents could purchase which identified them as the proud parent of the cast member[s] pictured). For the first time ever, he was also the professional photographer, who took the cast photo and other professional group or individual shots, as well as photos during shows which can be ordered through his website individually, on a disc, or in a photo memory book. Big learning curve for him, but a great opportunity to do what he loves and is so good at!

I don't know how I can possibly choose from among the hundreds of photos he took, so I will limit myself to just a few of our kids' big moments...and encourage you to go check out the rest! (I will post a link once his website is ready to go live.) Such beautiful costumes and colors...it was visually stunning. I wish I could post video of the dancing too--such high-energy, Bollywood-style, FUN stuff!

So here's a taste! (Click to enlarge each image.)

It was B8's first show, and he got to wear a mic and deliver a few lines of advice to the snake charmer. ("Maybe, if you'd play some better music, the snake would come out.")

After  singing throughout a high speed chase slow-mo pursuit with strobe lights, Aladdin (B17) and his three friends finally escape the Palace Guards...

...and Aladdin gets to catch his breath during a flashback scene of simpler times when his mother was still alive. This sweet trio was such a touching moment, every night.

Meanwhile, Jasmine has to endure the attentions of another suitor, Prince Zorak (played by B14), "the most sought-after prince in the known world, with the best education, training, and of course..."

"...good looks."

The Prince Zorak scene included a Treasure Dance, a guys' Sword Dance, and girls' Servant Dance. While his entourage presented these gifts, Prince Zorak did his own interpretive dance moves around the stage. (I could have chosen 20 awesome photos from this scene alone--between Zorak's facial expressions and the expressive dancers, it will be worth it to view the whole album, once it's ready!

B14 also played the Captain of the Palace Guard. Here he interrogates Aladdin who, to protect Jasmine, claims she is his sister. "What's her name?" "She...bah...  Sheba! That's her name! C'mon, Sheba, Mother is looking for us. Silly Sheba, we're supposed to be washing vegetables. Come with me, Sheba..."  B14, watching suspiciously as they exit, sneers:  "Vegetables?"

Aladdin takes Jasmine to his hideout, where he and his friends perform a fun musical number to introduce themselves. "Jasmine, you ain't seen nothing near/ The kind of friends you've got right here...."

But the Palace Guard bursts in to arrest them. (It's okay if you snicker at B14's turban. We all did. Sometimes it was totally lopsided; sometimes it looked like a diaper. It added comedy to his character.)

Jafar takes Aladdin to the Cave of Wonders to get the lamp, and an earthquake seals him in.  He meets the Genie of the Lamp, but he needs persuading that the Genie is really that great and powerful. It takes a colorful musical number--complete with 16 blue-faced mini-Genies, confetti cannons and a Magic Carpet--to convince him. (Ya gotta enlarge this one...Chicklet 10 and B8 are the blondes in matching green in front.)

This was a tech rehearsal, and the mini-Genies aren't blue, but I like this "Going up!" shot of the end of Act 1, with the Magic Carpet spread out in front (and B8 in green,  there in back.) Strobes and a sound effect were added too.

In Act 2, B14 (back row left) also got to be in "Prince Ali's" (Aladdin's) entourage, in the hardest and best dance number of the show. He really enjoyed this third role.

At the end of the number, he and a friend carry his brother out on their shoulders!

The Magic Carpet Ride looked really cool with blowing clouds projected on the backdrop and dry ice creating clouds  onstage.

It became a little less romantic--and cuter--after the Mini Genies joined in the number. Usually they were in shadow,  but this shot was from dress rehearsal. (B8 in front, C10 in back, in matching green.)

B14, as Palace Guard, had a line in which he tells Aladdin and friends, who are prisoners, to "Quiet down in there." In rehearsal, just for fun, he banged on the gate with his elbow and pretended he was in agony from hitting his funny bone. The director said, "Let's keep it--but make it bigger and keep groaning over and over." It was a stupid gag, but he did it so well, it was a crowd-pleaser!

Aladdin and friends escape and sneak into Jafar's lair dressed as women. That's B17 (Aladdin) in red there in front.

As he dances with Jafar, Aladdin's head covering falls off and Jafar recognizes Aladdin! A swordfight ensues until Aladdin snatches up the lamp and Jafar breaks it with his sword, freeing the Genie and doing away with himself.

In the front row, in green, B8 and Chicklet 10 sing "oooo's" as the wedding party arrives. See B17 in white in back?

And you'll have to enlarge this one...all four on one stage! (B14 is behind the Sultan, to left of Jasmine.)

My job was to hit Play on the computer for each song, sound effect and piece of transition music. It's no one's favorite job--just a little stressful to always get the timing right--but I was finally feeling a bit more comfortable by the last show!

Ahh, Aladdin...it was a good run!

R & R

I had such a sweet time in California with my aunt and uncle!!

Totally in catch-up mode now, and struggling to find time to write a post about it. I have pictures--but they are located in several places, from which I don't normally upload to my blog, so that's another obstacle.

And Aladdin is just around the corner! We move our sets and light/sound equipment into the theater this Saturday. I'm busy selling tickets and realizing I need to immediately borrow or order shoes for the older boys, and buy and dye canvas tennies for my younger two. Oh, we need no-show socks too. And Showcase is tomorrow night too--yikes! Better make sure they have what they need to wear for that too!

I am also scrambling to pull together curriculum and a lesson plan for B14. Last week, I took him out to lunch for his birthday, and in a heart-to-heart conversation, he convinced me to let him drop the virtual school altogether and go back to pure homeschooling, which he remembers fondly as the last time he enjoyed school. He says the computer has taken over his life, since he started virtual schooling, and I agree! So, one more thing to add in to this week. Mostly, I just want to get him reading again.

But my California trip was a blessed time of R & R. My aunt and uncle are so gracious and easy to be with. We didn't do lots--the big day was going to a set where McDonald's shoots most of their commercials (my uncle's brother works there), and visiting the Nixon Library on the way home. On other days, the big events were walking around the neighborhood, going down to the ocean at the San Clemente Beach and Dana Point, going to Costco and a few other errands, and going to dinner at my cousin's house. We were in the car heading to Saddleback, Rick Warren's church, when I became ill, so that was disappointing. Slept it off and felt fine after that, though; my body seemed to be confused by the time change, different food and caffeine at odd times.

My aunt and uncle have the gifts of conversation and laughter--my cousin too--and I mostly just enjoyed sitting around and talking and laughing! It had been years since I had seen them all, and it was so good to catch up. I also enjoyed hearing about their experiences in the past; I heard many stories I had not heard before or could only vaguely recall. My uncle is quite a character and tells a colorful story! And it was inspiring to see their faithfulness to God, and His hand at work over the course of their lives. It was so good just to laugh, relax and worry about nothing while I was there! (Noooo stresssss....)

I soaked up what warmth and sunshine I could, too, though it was quite chilly while I was there. I hadn't been to CA in 17 years, and I honestly didn't remember it that well. I'd forgotten how hilly it was, and how exotic all the plants are, and I couldn't believe how green and beautiful it was, even in February! I can really see why so many people love it there. It was a great place to get away.

Still hope to post some pics later!

Thanks so much, Aunt and Uncle, for a wonderful time and for taking such good care of me!

Ode To Boys (or Happy Birthday, B8 and B14!)

These two.

My two youngest boys...just turned eight and fourteen!

The younger one is still my baby.

(I'm just soakin' up the goofiness.)

The older one is getting way too big to be anyone's baby.

Look at that. He's nearly as tall as brother, who is 5-foot-11-plus-hair.

He's writing a sci-fi novel, doing a comedic part in our upcoming production of Aladdin, and continuing to take piano. Improvisation is his forte!

His brother loves Legos and reading. He also has a couple comedic cameos in Aladdin. He's enjoying his first production, but next session he'll go back to his real love--soccer!

On the stage, he is a ham and a cut-up, full of great energy. But in soccer, he is focused and supremely happy. He seems born to it.

His brother is also a ham.

He's not as energetic and extroverted, though, and has grown more serious and thoughtful in recent years. It's been fun to see him recover his comedic side in Aladdin and also in the Improv class he's taking.

Here, we need to get him right side up again.

Handsome fellow, isn't he? We never can figure out what to do with his hair. 

These two--they love God, love the Bible, love their family, their church, their friends. 

They've been sharing a room since the fall, getting along beautifully. 

They are great joys in my life.

Happy Birthday, both of you!!